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On the case: Virgin Wines partners with InPost for click and collect convenience

No more delivery hiccups: Click and collect festive fizz and winter warmers from InPost’s nationwide network of automated lockers

Pick up wine in your own time: 24/7 locker access means Virgin Wines can be ordered for a last-minute stock up or for presents with local collection wherever you plan to be

Christmas of convenience: Two-thirds (64%) of online shoppers are considering using click and collect parcel lockers this year (1)

18th December 2014: InPost, the innovative send, collect and return parcel locker service, has announced a new click and collect partnership with the UK’s leading online wine retailer Virgin Wines. Ready in time for the season of Christmas cheer, from today shoppers can order cases of their favourite tipple to over 1000 InPost lockers up and down the country for quick and simple, round-the-clock collection.

When online shoppers proceed to check out on the Virgin Wines website they can now select to have bottles delivered to their nearest InPost locker – which are within five miles of almost three-quarters (70%) of UK postcodes. Confirmation texts of dispatch and delivery ensure cases are easily tracked and, combined with automated 24/7 access, picking up from a locker means no more queuing, wasted missions or missed deliveries.

Over 40% of people are planning to buy their Christmas wine online this year to save making a special trip in the car or to avoid lugging home heavy cases (2). However, recent InPost research reveals that in the past 10% of shoppers have missed crucial Christmas deliveries to their door and almost a third (30%) have spent more than 20 minutes queuing in the Post Office the week before Christmas, demonstrating why it is critical for retailers to open up delivery choices for customers (3).

Jay Wright, CEO of Virgin Wines, said: “Wine is big in Britain and buying it online is becoming increasingly popular because it’s just so much more convenient - particularly when stocking up the wine rack for special occasions. We’re always looking for ways to give more choice to our customers and adding InPost’s network of physical pick up points, means they have even better flexibility when they shop with us. We’re all leading ever-busier lives so ensuring an easy and efficient shopping and delivery experience when people buy wine online with us is incredibly important.”

Jonathan Smith, Chairman at InPost, said: “One of the challenges we look to resolve with our InPost lockers is the frustration and time wasted from a missed delivery, for shoppers, retailers and couriers alike. Our locker data shows that 60% of items are collected between 7pm-7am at night, showing how much people value being able to collect at their own convenience and this way, purchases wait in for the customer rather than the other round. Linking up with Virgin Wines means we effectively provide more than a 1000 click and collect wine shops across the country and shoppers can pick up their cases in seconds at a time to suit them.”

InPost’s fully automated lockers can be found at a variety of safe and secure locations including at Morrisons supermarkets, petrol stations, train stations and Transport for London sites, outside retailers such as Toys R Us and at local shops across the UK. All of InPost’s 1000 lockers are accessible 24/7/365, meaning no more queues or waiting in, enabling consumers to collect and deliver items at their earliest convenience.

(1) Source: OnePoll, November 2014. The research was conducted by OnePoll with fieldwork conducted in November 2014. Data was secured via an online survey and the sample consisted of 2,000 UK online shoppers.

(3) Source: OnePoll, November 2014. The research was conducted by OnePoll with fieldwork conducted in November 2014. Data was secured via an online survey and the sample consisted of 2,000 UK online shoppers.